The former Guns N’ Roses guitarist took to Twitter to mourn Lord’s passing, writing: “Sad day in Rock & Roll; Jon Lord has passed on. One of the biggest, baddest, heaviest sounds in Heavy Metal. One if a kind. RIP.”

Lord had been battling pancreatic cancer and died after suffering a pulmonary embolism at the London Clinic. He was surrounded by his family.

Slash joins a growing list of celebrities and artists who have publicly paid their respects to the heavy metal legend. David Coverdale, who worked with Lord in Deep Purple before becoming lead singer of Whitesnake, said: “It was an absolute joy and pleasure for me to know him and to work alongside him. He is missed already.”

Tom Morello of Rage Against The Machine also joined the tributes, tweeting: “RIP the great Jon Lord, Deep Purple’s cornerstone/keyboardist. So many great great songs and that incredible SOUND of his! Thankyou.”

Black Sabbath’s Geezer Butler also joined the mourners, writing on his website: “Very sad to hear of Jon’s death, following his battle with the demon cancer. One of the great musicians of my generation. Tony Iommi recently worked with Jon, and said what a lovely bloke he was. I met him a few times, but never got to work with him. Blessings.”